Healing Broken Hearts
by leafpool310
Summary: As a single woman, Julianna can't get custody of her late brother's son, Harry. Hopeless, she turns to Severus Snape - who insists the two marry. But what secrets is the potions professor hiding? - Snape raises Harry story -


Chapter One

She sat in front of the fireplace, arms wrapped around her knees, as she sobbed. Three months ago her brother and his wife had died, and in the chaos after their death, she hadn't had time to mourn. She'd been too busy attempting to gain custody of her young nephew, and getting married, and tonight was the first time she'd stopped long enough to cry.

A door creaked open from behind her, and she buried her face as her new husband came to sit near her. "Potter," he said, hesitant. "Do you - perhaps want some tea?"

She snorted, the sound muffled. "As if that would help?" Snape - Severus - snorted too.

"Yes, well, it was something Li- someone always would offer if I was upset." Julianna lifted her head and she looked up at him. His face, while always pale, seemed a shade lighter than normal, and she came to the realization this was as hard for him as it was for her.

She'd known Lily and Snape - Severus, she reminded herself - had been friends before Hogwarts, and they stayed friends up until her own second year at Hogwarts, but she didn't know why they'd stopped spending time together. It was clear to her, by the way he'd talked about her, he'd still cared for her. Had maybe even loved her. Hell, he'd married her for Lily's son's sake, after all.

_Julianna stood across from the headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, angrily tapping her foot. "What do you mean," she hissed through clenched teeth, "that you cannot tell me where my nephew is? He needs to be with family, he needs to be protected. It has been two months, and nobody but you seems to know where he's at."_

_"I assure you," Dumbedore responded, his voice calm, "that Harry is under the protection of several wards, and that he is with family."_

_"He isn't with me. The only other family he has are muggles, and Petunia isn't fit to raise a goldfish, let alone a child! Let alone a wizarding child!" Several books flew off the shelves in her frustration, but Dumbledore didn't even flinch. "He's with them, isn't he? With the Dursleys?"_

_"Miss Potter. You just graduated from Hogwarts. You are seventeen years old, without a job or a stable home. I believe you were staying with the Longbottoms until recently, after your parents died?" Julianna flushed, but Dumbledore continued. "Perhaps if your betrothal to Bilius Prewett hadn't fallen through, I - and the ministry - could justify you having custody of young Harry then. Unfortunately, Miss Potter, the Ministry is old fashioned with these things and will not grant custody to a single woman. Therefore, Harry will be staying with his other aunt and uncle as they have the greatest claim to the boy, with a steady income and a secure home. Have a good day."_

_Storming out of the headmaster's office, Julianna made it partially down the hall before stopping in her tracks, angrily slapping the wall. How dare Dumbledore make these decisions? It shouldn't be his choice where Harry went, should it? The thought made her curse aloud._

_"Potter, what are you doing here?" The familiar voice came from behind her, and even before she turned around she knew it was Snape standing there._

_"I don't think that's any of your business, is it, Snivellus?" Snape let out a hiss at her use of her brother's cruel nickname, and she turned to face him. "The headmaster knows I'm here, so if you have an issue with it, take it up with him."_

_"I'm asking you."_

_The two of them glared at each other, and to Julianna's frustration, a tear slipped out. She angrily wiped it away. "If you must know, I'm here because Dumbledore saw fit to leave my nephew with Lily's rotten sister, and refuses to even entertain the idea of me getting custody." The words were out, and Julianna was helpless to stop them from flowing. "Even though Petunia absolutely despises magic and anything to do with it. Harry's going to end up - end up beaten, or locked away, or- or -"_

_"I quite get the picture." Julianna, breathing hard, looked away from her late brother's enemy. "I, too, am aware of Petunia's feelings towards magic. I grew up near the Evans'." Snape eyed her carefully. "What was Dumbledore's reasoning? Surely Lily's son would be better off in the wizarding world? With people who could magically protect him should the need arise?"_

_She heaved a sigh, running a hand through her messy hair, a habit she'd shared with James. "Yeah well. Sirius is in Azkaban, Alice is - insane. I'm the only magical one that could possibly have custody, but Dumbledore's right; I'm a single woman with no job. I don't even have a home, thanks to the Lestrange brothers. How could I raise a child?" She slid down the wall, not caring that she was still in the middle of the hall. "I'd do anything to have Harry with me."_

_Her sentence was met with silence, and she glanced up at the Slytherin's face. His lips were pursed together, his face thoughtful. "Come with me," he said sharply, whirling on a heel and heading down the hall. Julianna quickly scrambled to her feet and rushed after him, her boots clacking against the hard floor._

_They ended up in the dungeons, in what used to be Slughorn's office. Snape hurriedly emptied off the chair so she could sit down. "I'm still getting sorted in here. Slughorn didn't leave much of a lesson plan and I only had a few weeks to come up with one." He set the stack of parchment on a side table, and sat down on the other side of the desk._

_"What are we doing here?" Julianna questioned him, crossing her arms. "I have to get to the Leaky Cauldron and start my job hunt. Maybe Tom would give me a job there in exchange for room and board."_

_"Just hang on a minute," Snape hissed, digging through one of the drawers on his desk. "I'm looking for - ah." He pulled out a small black box, and Julianna stared at it in confusion. "You said you'd do anything to get custody of your nephew, right?" He sounded hesitant, but when Julianna agreed, he nodded sharply and slid the box across the desk. She slowly picked it up and opened it, revealing -_

_She scoffed. "You're not serious here, are you? Wedding rings?"_

_"They belonged to my parents. Not an overly loving marriage, really just one of convenience. Which is what ours would be."_

_"Ours? You must be would I ever marry you?" Julianna felt like she must still be asleep. Maybe the past two months had all been a dream, and soon she would wake up. It didn't seem likely that it was a dream, unfortunately, as Snape drummed his fingers on the desk._

_"I, too, have an interest in keeping Harry Potter safe. For his mother's sake, if not his fathers. It has always been obvious how your brother and I felt about each other." Julianna scoffed. "You are right. You have little chance to get him away from Petunia as a single, unemployed woman, no matter what fortune you have at Gringotts. What I suggest is we marry now, before Dumbledore catches wind of it. As my wife, you would be able to live here with me during the school year, and at my home in Spinner's end. Both places are warded so tightly nobody with evil intent would get past without mine or Dumbledore's knowledge."_

_"I doubt Dumbledore would give me custody even if I married you," Julianna snapped, pushing the rings back in his direction. "Why would he?" But the thought was creeping into her head. Dumbledore himself had mentioned if her engagement with Billius had gone ahead, he'd consider her (though the fact that it was still his choice galled her to no end), so maybe if she did marry someone, he'd relent. But Snape? Hadn't he been a death eater? When she mentioned this, Snape stood up abruptly and turned away, his shoulders hunched._

_"I was." When he finally spoke, his words were clipped. "Dumbledore trusts me, however. As I'm sure you know, he spoke up at my trial last month and got me acquitted. If you agree to marry me, you shall have the full story." He sank back into his chair, knotting his fingers together. "Take some time. Think about it. If you can come up with another idea, by all means do it."_

_"I've been fighting with Dumbledore for weeks," Julianna sighed. The dungeon's cold felt like it was seeping into her bones, and she rubbed her arms in an attempt to get warm. "Give me a few days. I'll owl you either way." She rose from the seat, swallowing. "Snape - what do you get out of it? If we get married? You're what, twenty? Twenty one? I'm sure you have someone else you'd like to marry-"_

_"No," he hissed, interrupting. "There's nobody." The look in his eye told her otherwise, but she said nothing as he continued. "What I get out of it is - trust." She raised her eyebrows skeptically. "If I marry a Potter, there's not a single person who would doubt that I'm on the light if I do it before you gain custody of Lily's son, it won't look like I'm only doing it to get close to him."_

_"There will always be someone who doubts you," Julianna said. "No matter who you marry or who you raise. And are you really even on the light side? You said Dumbledore trusts you and got you acquitted, but that means you were a death eater at some point. How do I know you won't kill Harry first chance you get?"_

_"I won't." They stared at each other, and he finally relented. "Sit back down. It's a long story."_

"Have you spoken to Dumbledore yet?" Julianna asked over breakfast. Snape paused, his toast halfway to his mouth. He put it back on the plate.

"Briefly," he stated. "Since it's the holidays, he's given me this time to settle in with you. He, unfortunately, isn't convinced we've had a secret relationship for two years, so he's a bit hesitant with us being - wed. He is one of those who believes in love, and is disappointed we both gave it up."

"For Harry," Julianna pressed. "We married for Harry. Has he even mentioned him?" Snape shook his head, and she slammed her hand on the table. "He can't keep Harry from me forever! I will go to the Dursley's house myself and take Harry if I have to!"

"Do you remember where the Dursleys live?"

Julianna nodded. "Yes, I've been there. It's in-" she froze, her mind blank. "I've been there several times, it's on-" But again, she couldn't remember.

"Dumbledore put wards over their home," Snape said bitterly. "Probably so you couldn't do that exact thing. I've been to the Dursleys home as well, and my memory is excellent. Without the wards I'd know exactly where to go."

Julianna covered her face, holding back the tears that were threatening to fall once more. 'It's not right," she said, her voice muffled. "Dumbledore shouldn't be able to dictate where Harry goes. He's my family, the only family I have left."

"You are only seventeen," Snape reminded her. "In any other circumstances I would agree that Vernon and Petunia are the best people to raise him. However, he needs love, magical guidance and protection, and Petunia can provide none of those. Not to Lily's son."

_Juliana stormed into Snape's office a week after the conversation in which he'd basically proposed, not bothering to knock. The potions master looked up from his grading, eyes narrowed, but he relaxed slightly when he saw who it was. "You get trust from the wizarding world, I get my nephew. That's what you said. Right?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Can you promise me if we marry, Dumbledore will help take custody away from the Dursleys and give it to us?"_

_"I cannot promise, no," Snape said bluntly. Julianna swallowed. "But it is more likely you'd get custody wed to me then you would as a single woman."_

_"The ministry can wed us," she told him. His eyebrows shot up. "I just came from there. They just need our wand signatures and our vow that the marriage is not being forced on either side, that we are choosing this of our own free will."_

_"I can swear to that," Snape affirmed. "Shall we go now?" Julianna, her mouth dry, could only nod._

"I've sent the paperwork to the ministry, requesting that Harry Potter's custody be given to you and your husband. I expect confirmation by the end of the month at the latest, but most likely I'll hear by the end of the week." Julianna released her held breath as Dumbledore eyed her carefully from the other side of the desk. "I applaud your determination. Marrying a man you do not love, and dare I say, don't even trust, for the sake of your nephew, is admirable."

"I never said I don't love or trust Severus, did I?" Julianna let her voice go cold, yet Dumbledore's eyes just twinkled at her use of his first name. "Harry will be raised here for most of the year, Professor, but you are to have no say in his upbringing beyond here. Are we understood?"

"Perfectly," came his response.

* * *

It had been three long, aggravating days during which Dumbledore insisted he was doing all he could to get Harry away from the Dursleys. But he had, in fact, probably done nothing, leaving Julianna in a perpetually bad mood.

"He's the one that had Harry sent there!" she vented, late Sunday night. The next morning Severus was due to start his lessons back up, and he too seemed irritated with the current situation. Or maybe he was just irritated with Julianna herself. "I'm sure it would be nothing for him to just - go down there and tell them Harry has another place to go. Petunia won't care. I'm sure she hates the boy."

"I'm sure she does too, Potter, but I am a bit busy here," Severus growled from his desk, and she groaned, throwing herself onto the couch, grabbing a book off the side table and attempting to concentrate. She got three paragraphs in before giving up, tossing it back onto the table. "If you could please settle down," her husband snapped. "We have to wait on Dumbledore and the ministry. There's nothing you can do about it, so you might as well settle down for the night. In case you've forgotten, I have to get up for breakfast early now that the holidays are over."

She pursed her lips but said nothing, grabbing her drink and heading into their bedroom. She sank onto the bed, pulling her socks off and throwing them into the nearby hamper. Curling up into her - their - bed, she let her mind slip away into memories of James.

_Seven year old Julianna sat on her brother's bed, pouting, as he packed for Hogwarts for the first time. Their parents were laughing in the living room, the sound echoing down the hall and through the open door._

_"I don't know why you're so upset," James said, turning away from his trunk and towards her, ruffling her hair with his hand. "I'll be back for Christmas."_

_"Yeah but that's months away," Julianna said, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm gonna miss you."_

_James grinned at her, messing up her hair again. "Hey, I'm never going to leave you, Jules. I promise."_

"Potter? Dumbledore's in the fireplace." Julianna huffed, rolling out of bed.

"Course he would be when I gave up waiting," she complained, earning a half laugh from Severus. She stopped at the door. "In case you've forgotten, by the way, I'm no longer a Potter. You can use my first name, it won't burn your tongue."

Dumbledore had come through the fireplace when she made her way back into the living room, and he was standing with his back toward her. "I will escort you to Privet Drive in the morning, after breakfast."

She couldn't help the grin of relief that spread across her face. "Thank you, headmaster."


End file.
